Aisling I

To say that we were happy to arrive in Monastir would be a significant understatement. Although the passage took just a bit over 31 hours, it was bumpy and cold. The wind was on the nose for the first 10 hours. Two-meter waves were tossing the boat around like a cork. One of us was seasick (I'm sure you can guess which one). Consequently, the one of us who was not seasick was on deck for 24 of the 31 hours. To add insult to injury, a pigeon landed on deck and rode most of the way across the Strait of Sicily with us. With the passing of the years, I've mostly overcome my bird phobia, but I assure you that at 5 a.m., while struggling to overcome a queasy stomach, a bird fluttering around the foredeck was the last thing I wanted to see. And what on earth was a pigeon doing at sea anyway?

For that matter, what on earth were we doing out there? Both of us had seen the weather forecast. But the thing is, it sounded positively benign compared to the previous days' forecast of 25-30 knot winds and 2-3 meter waves. We'd also neglected to factor in the increased vulnerability to seasickness that, for me, is an inevitable consequence of spending six months on land. But mostly, it was because we had been at the dock too long and were itching to get away.

It was a blessed relief when the wind clocked round to the forward beam late Friday evening, and an even greater relief when the waves finally moderated. By noon on Saturday, we were motoring in light winds on a mostly calm sea. After consuming the lion's share of the lemon cake that our friend Sandra had given us before we left, I was definitely feeling more cheerful. Dolphins jumped beside the boat and four sea turtles swam by (perhaps in pursuit of the platoons of tiny purple-sail jellyfish that also passed us). At five p.m., the familiar turrets of Habib Bourguiba's mausoleum came into view. What a wonderful feeling to step off the dock at Marina Cap Monastir! And how nice to almost immediately bump into three other cruising couples that we know. We had dinner at the Café Calypso with Philip and Kara from Fabuloso, but since we'd all sailed through the same nasty weather, we made it an early night.

For a while, I had assumed we'd never be back in Tunisia. When we'd last been here in the spring of 2009, there were huge photos of President Ben Ali at every 10 paces. Less than two years later, we'd watched the news coverage of Ben Ali's photos being burned in the streets during the revolution with a kind of horrified fascination. How could we not have realized that things were so bad? Not that we hadn't noticed the restrictions to civil liberties. Our Tunisian guide Hamid had been reprimanded by the authorities for visiting our boat without clearance. Our dockside neighbours Tom and Liz had witnessed a citizen being beaten by the police. But we'd had no sense that things were about to blow up.

Fortunately, things have settled down a lot since then, and the cruisers from Marina di Ragusa who visited Tunisia last year returned with good reports. Not so Paolo our electrician, who travels all over the world servicing the steering systems on superyachts. "Don't go!" he said. "It used to be nice; now it's terrible! It's dirty, they drive on the wrong side of the road and they don't even wear helmets!" For him, the helmets seemed to be the last straw. (Sicilians may not be models of defensive driving, but they do observe the helmet laws.) "But you could say the same things about Greece!" I countered. Anyway, we needed to get the boat out of the EU, and a short passage to Tunisia was more appealing than heading 350 miles to Albania. So off we went, and we're glad to be here.

Things in Monastir seem much the same as they did four years ago. Oh, perhaps there are fewer Europeans in the marina restaurants, and there seem to be more headscarves on the streets (although Rick is convinced there are fewer). There's lots of garbage in the water, and the young bucks hassle me when I walk through the park beside the Ribat, but that is nothing new. Last night, we went to the tea salon in search of wireless internet, and drank almond tea while the men at the table behind us smoked a "hubble bubble" pipe and watched the football match. This morning, I walked up to the market and bought a bag of fresh figs and some merquez sausages. The weather is lovely. I wouldn't mind hanging around here for a while. We probably will. Paolo was right about one thing though. I haven't seen anyone wearing a helmet yet!

The downside is that, at the moment, we're "on the hard" which is, in my opinion, a most unsatisfactory way to live. This means that the boat is essentially on stilts. They didn't quite get things right when they put the boat in the stands, so it's sitting significantly lower at the bow than at the stern. Things should get really interesting at bedtime! We can't use the head, so will have to climb down a steep ladder any time we feel the urge to use the toilet. Worse, we have been given a particularly rickety ladder that trembles like a leaf in the wind each time I set foot on it. Or is that my knees knocking? Never mind, it will only be for a day or two. At least I'm not seasick!

Cruisers notes-Prices Marina Cap Monastir 2013

For 12 M boat:
High season (June-Sept): 30 TD (15 euros)/day or 500TD/month
Low Season (Oct-May): 24TD (12 euros)/day or 400TD/month
Water and electricity add 5.5 TD/day
Multihulls add 65%

Fresh market and supermarket in the town
Full service laundry in marina
Several good and inexpensive restaurants in the marina
Reasonably priced apartments available at marina Studio (one room 2 people) 64DT in June 2013 2 Rooms 4 people 86 DT see Marina Website

Comments

Vessel Name:	Aisling I
Vessel Make/Model:	Slocum 43
Hailing Port:	Halifax, NS, Canada
Crew:	Rick and Bonnie Salsman
About:	Crew from Halifax to Horta: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Dave Morse, Wally Fraser Crew from Horta to Spain: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Al Salsman, Rob Salsman We left Halifax, N.S. in June 2007, sailed to Horta, and explored the Azores for a month. [...] More
Extra:	The info below is a copy and paste from some literature about the Slocum 43. Please excuse the platitudes. Although I may like them , they are not truly mine. Aisling I is a 1987 Slocum 43, designed by Stan Huntingford. She has been designed to satisfy the sailor who wants the blue water, "get [...] me there" ability with the amenities for great comfort at anchor and at sea. It's a combination of engineering, performance, comfort and safety, wrapped in high quality Burmese teak finish, teak and holly cabin soles and rich upholstery. She is meant to be easily handled by a couple under almost any conditions. She was built in Taiwan to exacting standards using some of the latest technologies of the time that are still admired today. LOA: 42'6" LWL: 35'10"" TYPE: Sailboat - Cutter Rigged BEAM: 12'11" DRAFT: 6' 5" BUILDER:SLOCUM DISPL: 28,104 lbs. SAIL AREA: 808 Sq.Ft. DESIGNER: Stan Huntingford BALLAST: 9,000 lbs. HULL MATRL: Fiberglass ENGINE: Perkins 4108 TANKAGE/FUEL: 120 gal TANKAGE/WATER:150 gal GENERAL INFORMATION: Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and has a warm, roomy and comfortable interior . Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. ACCOMMODATIONS & LAYOUT: Headroom is 6'4" or better, throughout the boat and storage capacity can only be noted as "more than ample". Beautiful Burmese teak joinery throughout, solid teak staving , all doors are beveled and hand fitted, lockers are teak lined and the glossy varnished cabin sole is teak and holly plank. The interior is finished with a satin varnish with high gloss accents on the trim. Teak doors are louvered. This yacht sleeps up to six people in accommodations with the forward cabin, main salon and owners quarter berth cabin. The forward cabin design is a signature of the Slocum and incorporates an upper and lower twin bunk to port, with the top berth extending into a a settee and to port, there is extensive storage in the form of shelves, hanging locker, drawers and louvered doors. Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and is one of the warmest, roomiest, most comfortable interiors available in a 43' cruising yacht. Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. Underneath the starboard countertop is a Stainless Steel automatic internal lighted freezer controlled by an opening top or door. Additionally, the refrigerator box opens from the front. The refrigerator and freezer have large capacity plates which were built to be easily removed for future servicing. There are 2-deep stainless steel sinks, fully gimbaled stove and generous counter space. Overhead cabinets have a moveable peg system, which allows you to custom fit spaces inside to the size and shape of your dishes. Over the galley is a large opening hatch for light and ventilation, also, there are two opening ports over the stove area for added ventilation. Directly across from the galley, to starboard, is a proper offshore, forward facing navigation station and chart table with tremendous room for an exceptional compliment of navigation and electronic equipment for easy use while navigating. The large nav table/desk has a generous storage locker under the desk top and room for the additional electronic navigation and communication equipment outboard. The nav seat is contoured for ease of use underway and the electrical panel is flush mounted here, on a swing-out door for easy access. Overhead are two additional opening ports for excellent cross ventilation with the galley and Nav area. Just aft of the nav station and to starboard of the companionway, is a large pilot berth that will be your favorite berth when offshore. There is a teak grate built into the teak and holly floor at the bottom of the companionway, to catch water from wet gear. With the wet locker and teak draining grate, which drains to the bilge, all foul weather gear is kept aft and away from the main living quarters. All locker doors are ventilated. At the bottom of the companionway stairs is additional storage behind bottom two steps. Next, to port is the owners aft cabin with a queen sized berth with storage below as well as drawers for him and her. Various shelves and locker with removable shelf and enclosed storage locker, as well as ample book storage and large teak framed mirror, mounted on the bulkhead. The aft stateroom also has excellent ventilation provided by two opening ports and an opening hatch overhead. There are 11 Stainless steel opening ports with screens and 5 opening deck hatches, plus the companionway hatch, with screens, which provides a tremendous amount of light and superior cross ventilation. There are also 2 dorade vents, one over the head and one over the chart table. Below deck ventilation far surpasses the standards in the industry. There are light colored curtains at the ports for privacy, interior cushions are a blue HULL AND DECK Hull hand laid-up Fiberglas with 20mm R62-80 Airex Sandwich. Cast iron ballast - 4.08 tonnes, flooded with resin and 100% glassed over ( encapsulated keel). Deck- hand laid-up Fiberglas with 3/4" Baltek balsa-wd sandwich core. Teak side decks - seasoned timber, quarter sawn with black bedding compound below and in seams, secured to Fiberglas by 1" sheet metal screws, countersunk and plugged. Inlaid teak on cabin top. 1 1/2" s/s shaft, tapered to ABYC std ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Conforms to United States Coast Guard and American Bureau Yachting regulations governing wire type, coding and load capacity FRP battery box, ventilated cover with quick release tie down NEWMAR (USA) electrical panel with panel light, circuit breakers with "ON" light and battery test switch, both 110v AC and 12v DC, volt Fuel tanks - New April2000, 120 gallons in 2 Aluminum 60 gal tanks with baffles, clean out ports, complete with dipsticks, inter tank connectors with valve, take off from top with s/s ball valve on each labeled and grounded More
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